The Blork Piñata
Two years ago this Colossal Magically reinforced Paper Mache Golem rampaged through the Artifeast festivities for hours, wounding many and destroying half of the fairgrounds. Construction Conceived by Institute of Ascension Staff member Sauline Hinton, it was designed as a birthday commemoration for famed Breyor Arcanist Blork Estwald and intended to become a permanent companion physical event for the Artificer. Contestants would wager their own gear and battle the donkey shaped rainbow colored golem, eventually defeating it and spilling the many coins, candies, and treasures inside. Part of the fun would involve a choice to fight it normally or take advantage of it's vulnerability to bludgeoning weapons and fight it in invisible mode. Losers would be knocked unconscious by it's peace bonded blows and then their gear would be sucked into the Blork Piñata. Their treasure would trigger the self healing protocol and the battle would start with the next contestant. An accidental typo on the plans mislabeled centimeters as meters. Unveiling Hours before the new event could be announced, the golem spontaneously broke free of it's restraints and began bludgeoning tourists, guards, and vendors alike, gobbling up anything of value. Lightpeak's champions of justice had little effect on the golem, and it's multicolored magically treated frame resisted swords, arrows, and magic. It's mighty roar would fire a cone of treasure from it's internal holdings at velocities powerful enough to penetrate stone. It's massive macrame maw and stumps would have massacred the populous if not for the peace bonding. Eventually, the Inquisitors of Artifeast rallied willing and able contestants, guards, and adventurers for a final assault which drove the Blork Piñata Golem deep into the Artificer subterranean labyrinth. Though there were no fatalities, many were knocked unconscious and some had to have candy bars, gold pieces, and other bits of wealth surgically removed. Much of the Lightpeak's residential district was destroyed. Aftermath Though Sauline Hinton would take the Grand Invention Prize that year, High Priest of Phol-Phoram Tytherius Rex wisely decreed that any future entrants that attempted/failed/succeeded intentionally or unintentionally in destroying Artifeast would face immediate disqualification and devices of Gargantuan or larger size must undergo a full diagnosis by Inquisition teams before admittance to the faire grounds. The Blork Piñata vanished, taking with it half of the inventions, wealth, and private equipment of Artifeast. The Blork Piñata has yet to emerge from it's hiding place deep within the earth, nor has any of it's swallowed wealth made it into circulation. Sauline Hinton remains in custody in a classified cell in Lightpeak's dungeons. While he is publicly being held for a laundry list of crimes ranging from grand theft to destruction of property, his imprisonment is also protective custody. Some of the deadliest warriors on Emden showed up to the Artifeast festivities that year for the event and were humiliated in combat by a giant rainbow donkey. Several important political figures also bear a standing grudge against Hinton over stolen signet rings, and standards of houses in Quaré, especially Larien Sáralondë. The Sáralondë Dynasty's patriarch Larien not only lost his personal notary of office, he lost an ear and still bears gummy shaped scars on the side of his face. Regular petitions to have custody turned over to the Council of Six have so far been ignored, but this may change considering the amount of financial backing Lightpeak receives from the merchant guilds of Quaré. Sauline Hinton maintains his innocence, and in spite of (or because of) the havoc the Blork Piñata has caused, his tenure at the Institute of Ascension has not been revoked.